Fashion, Design & Beauty: Latest News 2023 - vegconomist: the vegan business magazine

Copenhagen Fashion Week Bans Fur After PETA Protest

August 16, 2022

Following last year’s fur protest organised by PETA UK, Copenhagen Fashion Week announces it has banned the use of fur and fur garments in this year’s show as a sign of commitment to animal welfare. The fur ban has become a global movement after many prominent fashion houses, including Gucci, Versace, and Prada, as well as global brands such as Michael Kors and Tommy Hilfiger, make the switch to 100% fur-free fashion. As more and more designers and fashion brands start to prioritise animal welfare over profit, fur is gradually disappearing from the most important catwalks of the world. Fur-free Fashion Weeks All over the world, fashion weeks are one of the highlights for designers, buyers, and the public. The decision to ban fur on …

Piñatex Continues to Create Impact at Scale With New ZARA Collaboration

August 12, 2022

London-based B-Corp Ananas Anam announces a new collaboration with fast-fashion giant ZARA featuring a range of sneakers, sandals, and accessories made from the company’s next-gen pineapple leather PIÑATEX® . Ananas Anam is convinced that “anything can be achieved as long as all actors in the fashion industry work together towards the same goal.” By providing what it claims to be the most sustainable plant-based alternative to leather commercially available at scale, PIÑATEX® is in an optimum position to partner with ZARA and other fashion brands to increase the plant–based componentry in their products and enhance overall sustainability. PIÑATEX® is the material of choice for hundreds of vegan and sustainable fashion brands around the world, including global lifestyle brands such as Nike, H&M, Hugo Boss, Paul Smith, …

Stella McCartney launches sustainability fund

Stella McCartney Helps to Launch $200M Sustainability Fund

August 11, 2022August 11, 2022

Stella McCartney has joined forces with venture capital firm Collaborative Fund to launch a sustainability fund worth $200 million. Known as the SOS fund, it is aimed at “cleaner businesses, founders and sustainable solutions”. This includes companies in the fields of decarbonisation, food and agriculture, and materials solutions. Those at Series A or B level will be the main focus. Bolt Threads partnership According to McCartney, the SOS fund has already invested in Bolt Threads, maker of Mylo mushroom leather. The fashion designer has been partnering with the company for some time, showcasing a top and trousers made with Mylo early last year. In October, McCartney presented a mushroom leather bag — based on the design of her classic Falabella bag — at Paris Fashion …

New York’s Nea Studio Launches Chandeliers Made With Algae

July 29, 2022

Nea studio, an award-winning specialist in interior design and architecture from New York, just launched an innovative new collection featuring sconces and chandeliers made with algae. Founded by Nina Edwards Anker in 2006, nea studio’s philosophy is guided by eco-responsibility. The studio’s newest collection is made from locally sourced marine algae that took the studio eight years to find. Luxury Material Algae is fast becoming a go-to luxury material used by high-end designers around the world. Especially in the interior design sector, ecologically friendly materials that can help to step back from plastics and wood contributing to pollution and deforestation, are a growing trend. In terms of sustainability, algae is a superior choice to most conventional materials used in furniture and lighting. As a translucent …

Vegan Car Interiors of the Future: Ultrafabrics Unveils New Tata Motors Concept

July 21, 2022

Ultrafabrics has unveiled a new partnership with India’s Tata Motors showcasing a futuristic vegan interior concept car. The partnership with Tata Passenger Electric Mobility (TPEM), the electric vehicle subsidiary of global automobile manufacturing company Tata Motors is the latest collection from the animal-free, high-performance fabric specialist. Inspired by the colors and crafts of Tata Motors’ Indian heritage, Ultrafabrics states the end result is a warm and inviting interior for TPEM’s new electric vehicle, the AVINYA Concept. It features Ultrafabrics’ Fusion Shimmer and Volar Bio vegan materials crafted in its Japanese mill using the proprietary production process. Spanning many industries, the brand’s client list includes Jaguar Land Rover, Herman Miller, Winnebago, Fitbit, Virgin Galactic, and Movado. TPEM and Tata Motors are under the Tata Group umbrella, …

©Gomorrah

Gomorrah Introduces “World’s First” Compostable, Plant-Based Luxury Menswear Shirts

July 21, 2022July 21, 2022

In an industry still dominated by fast fashion and disposable culture, Gomorrah is one menswear brand on a mission to create compostable, plant-based luxury clothing. In the US alone, 22 billion pounds of clothing are thrown away in landfills every year, often polluting the environment with toxic dyes and plastic-derived fibers that can take centuries to break down. In response to this ongoing crisis, Gomorrah has embraced sustainability by creating the Compostable Collection, the world’s first 100% compostable and vegan-friendly shirts in luxury menswear. Elegance meets eco-friendly The soon-to-be-launched collection features premium button-down shirts made with fully organic cotton, non-toxic dyes, and zero-waste buttons. Most importantly, the brand states, the shirts are designed with the garment’s entire life cycle in mind, and made only with …

Leukeather: Animal-Free Exotic Leather Made From Upcycled River Tamarind Pods

July 20, 2022

Leukeather is a vegan alternative to exotic leather, developed by UAE-based Egyptian architect Nuhayr Zein. The material is made from the dried pods of Leucaena, also known as river tamarind. Leucaena is a tree native to northern Central America and southern Mexico. It is fast-growing, requires little water, and is already present on many farms. To make the leather, farmers gather dried pods and supply them to Leukeather. The company then uses biotechnology to improve the suppleness and flexibility of the pods, creating a material that is naturally waterproof and plastic-free. Leukeather is said to be the only vegan leather that does not require embossing to obtain a leather-like texture, as the Leucaena pods give it a natural pattern. Exotic vegan leather A huge variety …

©Solari Milano

Vegan Italian Dress Shoe Brand Solari Milano Launches

July 19, 2022

Vegan shoe brand Solari Milano was born to produce cruelty-free shoes to keep up with sustainability trends without sacrificing comfort and elegance. The new men’s footwear brand claims to combine being made in Italy with respect for the environment and styles that match the office or an elegant event. Solari Milano shoes are made with a corn fabric, which is breathable, durable, water-resistant, yet soft. Solari shoes are 100% Italian, with the production based in Tuscany. The project started a year and a half ago and the product line currently consists of three models: oxfords, loafers and brogues, all made with cruelty-free products, thus safeguarding the lives of animals while contributing to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and saving water. The brainchild of former …

©MycoWorks / Nick Fouquet

MycoWorks Commercializes “World’s First” Plastic-Free Mycelium Alt Leather with Hatmaker Nick Fouquet

July 19, 2022

Biomaterials innovator MycoWorks has announced the commercial launch of the first fashion items made with its flagship mycelium material, Reishi. The Reishi Collection by luxury hatmaker Nick Fouquet includes the Reishi Boletus, Coprinus, and Morchella hats, now available in limited runs on NickFouquet.com. Claiming to unlock new design possibilities for brands, MycoWorks’ biotechnology engineers mycelium – the infinitely renewable root structure of mushrooms – as it grows to designers’ exact specifications for hand feel, texture, strength, and functionality. The result, Reishi, is a luxury, natural material that the company claims can match the performance of the highest quality animal leathers with far lower environmental impact. The San Francisco-based biomaterials company recently announced it had raised $125 million to open a full-scale mushroom leather production plant. …

Lenny Kravitz Relaunches Mission-Driven Vegan Toothpaste Brand TWICE

July 13, 2022

US musician and actor Lenny Kravitz has relaunched his vegan toothpaste brand TWICE with updated packaging and new products. TWICE initially launched in 2018, inspired by the work of Kravitz’s dentist, Jonathan B. Levine. Levine co-founded oral care brand Glo and subsequently the Glo Good Foundation, which provides dental care to those in developing countries. After joining forces with the foundation to bring a dental clinic to his own community in the Bahamas, Kravitz was inspired to launch TWICE in collaboration with Levine’s sons, Julian and Cody. Many traditional toothpastes contain animal-based glycerin (for moisture), colors, propolis from bees, or are tested on animals. Demand for vegan friendly oral care is increasing and is being met by mainstream producers, for example, In 2020, Colgate introduced …

©Simplifyber

Simplifyber Secures $3.5M in Seed Round For 3D Printed Garments of the Future

July 7, 2022

Simplifyber, Inc, the cleantech producer of footwear and clothing “created in a lab, not in a factory”, announces it has closed a $3.5 million seed funding round. The New York brand makes cotton-like biodegradable footwear and clothing by injecting liquid into molds, on a mission to transform the world’s apparel and footwear industries and replace wovens and knits with sustainable alternatives. Simplifyber’s cellulose formula is derived from a combination of wood pulp and other plant-based materials, leading to a fully biodegradable product that can be easily returned to nature. The company’s production technique evades the use of traditional spinning, weaving, cutting, and sewing, cutting out 60% of the steps and reducing the enormous amount of materials that go to waste as a result of the …

Magnum and Iris van Herpen collaboration

Magnum and Iris van Herpen Create First Ever Vegan Haute Couture Dress

July 6, 2022

Magnum and Iris van Herpen have joined forces to create what is claimed to be the first ever vegan haute couture dress. Inspired by Magnum Vegan ice cream, the dress is made with upcycled cocoa bean husks. Through processing, these husks can be transformed into an entirely organic biopolymer material. Van Herpen has used this material to develop an intricate three-dimensional design enhanced with upcycled organza and copper-coated embellishments. Magnum said the collaboration was part of the company’s ambition to lessen its impact on the world. The dress was modelled by French supermodel Cindy Bruna at Paris Fashion Week. Upcycled fashion A growing number of fashion brands are looking to improve their sustainability through the use of upcycled materials. These include Germany’s Revoltech, which has …

Natural Fiber Welding collaborates with Veshin

Veshin Announces Partnership With Natural Fiber Welding

July 4, 2022July 4, 2022

Veshin – a Chinese factory that produces fashion accessories for sustainable brands around the world, announces a partnership with Natural Fiber Welding (NFW) to create products made with the company’s leather alternative, Mirum. As part of the partnership, a team of expert designers and craftspeople with decades of experience will help brands source, design, scale, and launch products made with Mirum. The leather alternative is a high-performance, plastic-free material which is rapidly gaining popularity in the luxury accessory industry, having been used by brands such as Germany’s Melina Bucher. Plastic-free alt leather “Many ‘vegan leathers’ are marketed as ‘plant-based,’ but they also contain plastics like polyurethane. NFW believes ‘vegan’ should mean ‘plants’, not ‘plastic’,” Natural Fiber Welding told vegconomist in 2019. Veshin founder, Joey Pringle, …

©AlgiKnit

AlgiKnit Raises $13 Million to Scale Sustainable Kelp Yarn Production

June 30, 2022

Sustainable kelp yarn producer AlgiKnit has raised $13 million in its Series A funding round, led by The Collaborative Fund with participation from H&M CO:LAB, SOSV, and more. Following a previous round last year, AlgiKnit has now secured a total of $17.9 million. The latest raise comes as the company opens its new facility in North Carolina’s Research Triangle area, which will allow it to scale production of the eco-friendly yarn. AlgiKnit’s yarns are made by extracting a substance called alginate from seaweed and combining it with renewable biopolymers. The resulting fibres can then be knitted into textiles and coloured with natural pigments. These textiles could potentially be used across a range of industries, including fashion, furnishings, and automotive. Disrupting the textile industry Founded in …

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